PEORIA — Walt Lemon Jr. has kept a couple of secrets during his years at Bradley.

The disclosure of those concealments — which came Wednesday during a dinner meeting in which he signed a contract with Chicago-based agent Mike Naiditch — just may help the Braves’ seventh all-time leading scorer in his quest to become a professional basketball player.

The first one is a bit odd. Lemon, who will receive his BU diploma in the school’s graduation ceremony next weekend, claimed during his college years to be one year older than he actually is.

So on July 26, the Chicago native will turn 22, not 23.

“I first did that in high school to have a better chance with the ladies,” Lemon said. “It helped.”

The flip side, being a year younger, is now also a plus for him.

“With the revelation that Walt is 21 and not 22, NBA scouts are sure to take a closer look during the upcoming evaluation process,” said Naiditch. “There is a small group (four in DraftExpress’ mock draft) of NBA point guard prospects taller than 6-foot-2 and under 22 on draft day.”

The second non-public fact occurred following Lemon’s freshman year. His playing time under then coach Jim Les was sporadic and Lemon was confused about his role.

“If he had stayed, I wouldn’t have stayed at Bradley,” Lemon said of his former coach. “I would’ve transferred.”

Said Naiditch: “It’s good he went through that already because (playing time issues) only get worse (in the pros). It’s good to be prepared for it.”

While Lemon’s lifelong dream has been to play in the NBA, he’s under no illusion that America’s top pro league will come after him. He’s got to go after it.

Lemon did not get invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament last month. He won’t be evaluated at the NBA pre-draft combine next week. And he almost certainly won’t be drafted next month.

That’s where Naiditch comes in. He has clients who’ve played in the NBA — Greg Stiemsma and Bill Walker — and is in the process of setting up tryouts for Lemon with individual teams.

“Walt should do well in the tryouts because his kind of athleticism shows more in the small (six players) group,” he said. “Walt’s athleticism, work ethic, high character, left-handedness and scoring ability all make him a fantastic prospect. The NBA teams know who he is. But they also think he’s a year older.

Page 2 of 3 - “If he can do well in these workouts, he could get invited by a team to play in the (NBA) Summer League. It’s not so much that we’re fixated on making the NBA. We are fixated on having this experience so he can practice with NBA coaches. And then whatever happens, happens.”

If it leads to a job offer overseas, Naiditch is well positioned for that as well. Several of his clients — D.J. Cooper (Greece), Marque Perry (Turkey) and Mike Dunigan (Korea) — have foreign addresses.

“Most people tell me, ‘Europe first,’ ” Lemon said. “Mike agrees with me that I should pursue my NBA dreams. There are other things out there if that doesn’t work out. I’m not going to give up my (basketball) life. I still need to take care of my mom and me.”

Lemon has been training hard since Bradley’s season ended two months ago.

His body is more muscular and he said he can now touch a point on the backboard higher than the square (above the rim, 12 feet off the ground). The 6-3 guard was able to show off his 471/2-inch one-step vertical leap on national television in the Final Four slam-dunk competition.

Being a gym rat, Lemon has spent time addressing his weaknesses in ballhandling, outside shooting and decision-making in pickup games and on his own. He watches video of NBA scoring point guards Chris Paul and Derrick Rose.

“I know I had a lot of turnovers (his career total of 404 is an all-time high at BU),” he said. “I’m not making any excuses. But at Bradley, I had to score 20 points a game for us to have a chance to win. It was tough having to set everybody up and still be the main scorer.”

But he seems to have successfully turned that page. During this interview, Lemon was more relaxed and talkative than at any time during his career.

“I really like working with Mike,” he said. “I’m comfortable around him. I met him through my high school coach (Loren Jackson at Julian). Mike keeps it real with me. He tells me what I’m good at, but also what’s wrong and what I need work on.”

Naiditich, a former stock options trader who’s been a sports agent for 15 years, has similarly good vibes about his client.

“I don’t have to teach Walt some of the intangible things,” he said. “He already has them. He’s very mature and his focus is 100 percent on improving himself as a player. ... That makes it really, really nice.”

Page 3 of 3 - Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.